An agoranomos (, plural: ''agoranomoi'', ἀγορανόμοι) was an elected official in the cities of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, responsible for order in the

marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

(''

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

'', hence the name, translated as "market overseer"). A ''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'' could have several of them. The position was similar to the Roman ''

aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

''.{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Agoranomi, volume=1, page=381 Their duties included setting prices for certain goods, certifying goods and weights and scales, controlling money exchange, and the important function of managing the supply of the ''polis'' with grain. In controlling unscrupulous merchants, an agoranomos had the right to impose corporal punishment (and was often portrayed walking along the agora with a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

) on non-freeborn people, and fines on free citizens. An agoranomos also kept an eye on temples in the ''agora''. Ancient Athens had ten agronomoi, chosen annually. Five were responsible for the city, and five for the

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. Over time, ''agoranomos'' has also become an honorary title for a public benefactor, who contributed significant amounts for public institutions. The term is still in use today in modern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(''Αγορονομία'' — Agoranomía), for the analogous in U.S. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, which is a branch of the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

References

Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy
Ancient Greek titles

See also

References